Greece, Turkey and basketball diplomacy from below
ATHENS: At the time these lines are being written, a very important basketball event is taking place in Turkey: the 2010 World Championship held by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).…
Nail torture case shines light on Asia’s migrant maids
COLOMBO: L.P. Ariyawathie said she got a taste of what was in store for her just weeks after leaving her native Sri Lanka to work as a housemaid in Saudi…
Jordan, PLO turn page on ‘Black September’ but fears remain
AMMAN: Jordan and the Palestinians have turned the page on the bloody clashes of "Black September" that kicked off exactly 40 years ago on Friday but fears still remain in…
Film financing ‘tough’ since 2008 downturn: Aronofsky
Critical acclaim and box office success have not helped filmmaker Darren Aronofsky secure financing for new movies, and it has become doubly hard since the 2008 economic downturn, he said…
Gallic actor spurns Hollywood’s ‘French lover’ stereotype
French actor Romain Duris admits he is tempted by the dream of working with big-name US filmmakers, but spurns the "French lover" Gallic stereotype. Duris, appearing with fellow countrywoman Vanessa…
The Group: Band of outsiders
No other recent TV drama has courted the mammoth controversy that met Wahid Hamed’s “Al-Gama’a” (The Group). An in-depth historical chronicle of the founding of the Muslim Brotherhood, “Al-Gama’a” was…
Brazil graffiti artists seen more as Van Goghs than vandals
Graffiti’s long struggle to be seen as valid urban expression, not vandalism, is being crowned this month with an exhibition in Brazil by international artists who not only sprayed official…
Activist Shadi Harb released after 30 hours of detention
CAIRO: Shadi Tarek Al-Ghazaly Harb, former member of the Democratic Front Party and assistant medical professor at Cairo University was released on Wednesday by Egyptian authorities after around 30 hours…
The voice of Egypt’s middle class
If sales figures and market assessments of the Egyptian book publishing industry are to be believed, then right now is pretty much the worst time for a young Egyptian author…
Egypt PM to form committee to protect TMG investors
CAIRO: Egypt's Prime Minister is forming a committee to preserve the rights of citizens and investors in Talaat Moustafa's (TMGMadinaty project, the state news agency said on Wednesday. Egypt's High…
